Welding operations are in the trend of being automated, such as with robotic welding, where a robotic welding unit continuously performs a repeated or a series of repeated welding operations. In such an application it is necessary for the welding wire/electrode to be continuously supplied so that the welding operation is not stopped to reload an additional supply of welding wire.
Thus, large bulk wire welding containers have been developed and provided which contain a large length of wire. For example 500 feet of wire can be provided in a coiled fashion within the container. In such a container the wire is drawn out through an opening in a lid of the container, where the lid often functions to hold coils of the wire within the container to prevent the wire from unwinding out of the top of the container. Even though the length of the wire is large, as with all things, it will eventually run out requiring replacement. The replacement of the container causes down time in which welding does not occur. Additionally, depending on the construction of the lid as the wire is drawn out of the container the wire can bind or tend to get snagged, thus stopping the welding operation.
In an effort to deal with the container replacement issue discussed above, systems have been developed which allow the tail end of a welding electrode from a first container to be secured to the beginning end of a welding electrode from a second container to allow for further continuous welding. However, there are issues with these systems in that they may not provide for ease of drawing out of the wire during operation and/or they may not provide sufficient stability or security to the end portion of the wire to allow property security of the end portion to the beginning portion of a next container.
Therefore, a need exists to provide a welding container lid and a container containing the lid which allows for the easy payout of the wire and proper security to an end portion of the wire in a container.